The Thomas Blog

4 Ways Industrial Marketers Short Circuit Their ROI

Why do some industrial suppliers swear by online marketing, while others swear at it?

In many cases, industrial/B2B marketers that see a strong ROI (return on investment) from their online efforts simply have a clearer understanding of what it looks like, and a better idea of how, when, and where to look for it. In our 20+ years of helping suppliers use the internet to meet their business goals, we’ve seen four specific ways that many businesses short circuit their own ability to achieve and measure online success. Read on, and see if you’re making any of the 4 common missteps we outline on the following pages.

What Makes A Great Email Marketing Campaign?

An integral part of any inbound marketing campaign, email marketing is essential for directly connecting with current and potential customers.

Not only does an effective email campaign help keep your company on the radar, it also shows that you’re serious about your role as an industry leader and influencer.

In the United States alone, there are more than 224 million email users on the web.

This isn’t going unnoticed: Marketers are set to spend more than $3.07 billion on email marketing by 2019.

But more than 20% of marketing email recipients report marketing messages as spam.

So how can companies ensure their emails stand out, and what elements go into drafting a truly effective, lead-generating email?

Below, we’ll explore the five critical components of successful email marketing and outline how to best approach them.

How To Optimize Your Website: 5 Quick Tips

Maintaining a helpful, informative website is critical for reaching your targeted audience and positioning yourself as a leader in your industry. But if your website is out of date or isn’t properly optimized for end users, you’re likely missing out on a lot of valuable lead opportunities.

To ensure your website stands out from the crowd, and helps you pull in the leads that you need, follow the five tips below for easy website optimization.

4 Tech Trends That Are Reshaping Inbound Marketing

A multifaceted approach focused on attracting customers through the dissemination of helpful, relevant content and thoughtful interaction, inbound marketing allows potential customers to find you through various channels, including blogs, social media, and search engines. While traditional outbound marketing aims to push products, inbound marketing allows potential clients to become aware of a company organically.

But technological innovations and general shifts in the B2B landscape are drastically changing the way inbound marketing campaigns are structured and implemented. Chances are, you’re no longer reading emails on a Blackberry or browsing the internet using a dial-up connection; with today’s technology, content can be accessed in countless ways, whether in the office or on the go.

Below are four major technology trends shaping the face of inbound marketing today and what they mean for your company’s marketing campaigns.

Don’t Get Left B2Behind: Why Product Manufacturers Need to Embrace A B2C Mentality

When industrial buyers aren’t at work, they behave as everyday consumers; they shop online, they compare products for deals that best balance quality and value, and they shop independently, relying on freely available resources rather than salespeople to help them in their decision-making processes.

What Makes A Great Social Media Campaign?

To successfully reach the buyers you’re targeting and garner the leads you’re looking for, inbound marketing campaigns should encompass a range of different methods and channels.

Social media, in particular, is playing an increasingly important role in industrial digital marketing, allowing companies to connect personally with fellow industry leaders and attract potential leads.

The 4 Biggest Industrial Marketing Challenges Of 2017

Now is an ideal time to check on your progress toward your 2017 marketing goals. Are you on track for lead generation? What about spending? More importantly, have your efforts shown signs of profitability?

Thomas Index Report: Hurricane Harvey

To help buyers and suppliers stay ahead of the latest shifts and emerging trends, we constantly analyze the industrial/B2B buying activity taking place at Thomasnet.com, where every 2 seconds a buyer evaluates a supplier. This powerful, proprietary data fuels our Thomas Industrial Index.

This week we take a look at sourcing in and around the Houston area in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, with our data adding some insight into the sheer magnitude of the disaster. Here’s what we’re seeing:

5 Digital Marketing Tips To Reach More Buyers

As technologies continue to advance and industrial buyers increasingly turn to the internet for the information they need to find suppliers and source products, digital marketing has become indispensable in the B2B manufacturing and industrial sphere. Sending out mailers or relying on word of mouth is no longer enough to attract and convert valuable leads; now, a multifaceted approach is necessary to stay relevant in today’s shifting B2B landscape.